China and US conduct a coast guard search and rescue exercise.

Yesterday, the US Coast Guard’s Cutter Rush conducted a search and rescue (S&R) exercise with its Chinese counterpart off Shanghai.

This cooperative event together with the recent visit by Rear Adm Scott Sanders (the commander of the US TaskForce 151) (here), the deployment of a PLAN task force to the Gulf of Aden, China’s search for a missing Korean war US bomber (here), and the recent visit by General Xu Caihou (the PLA’s second highest ranking military officer to the US), suggests both nations are making small and incremental steps to improve relations.

Of course, more can be done to increase transparency and trust between China and America, but it seems they are finally moving in the right direction. Both sides are actually more like-minded in a number of regional security and economic issues – From North Korea’s nuclear test, support of Pakistan’s anti-extremism fight, to the role of the IMF. Some may even call this “like-mindedness” cooperative.

Rear Adm Scott Sanders


A fresh imported S-76 of the Chinese Coast Guard.